A Paulsboro mother and stepfather are charged with murder after police say the car story they told about their daughter Maya, 9, did not match her injuries

The story the parents told on Tuesday night lasted only as long as it took doctors to look at the child. Maya's mother and stepfather called 911 at about 1 in the morning and said the 9 year old may have been hit by a car while walking the family dog in Paulsboro, New Jersey. At the hospital, doctors found facial trauma and bruises all over her body, and injuries they said were inconsistent with being struck by a car. Maya was pronounced dead just before 7 that evening.

What investigators found next pointed inside the house. Police say they found blood inside the home. An autopsy found multiple injuries at different stages of healing, a pattern that suggests abuse over time rather than a single night. Maya's 4 year old sibling told investigators that their father hit Maya in the eyes and the face. Her mother, India Miller, 27, and her stepfather, Sean Scott, 45, were arrested and charged with murder, and both are in jail. They have appeared in court. Authorities have not released further information about what led up to the death or about any prior involvement by child welfare agencies with the family.

On Friday the town answered in the way towns do. Neighbors gathered near the 1500 block of Swedesboro Avenue for a candlelight vigil and a balloon release, and placed pictures of Maya on the fence near the family home. Community members noted that Maya was homeschooled, which meant few people outside the house saw her day to day. Mayor John Giovannitti said he had spoken with Maya's grandmother in Washington, and told the crowd that a community that did not know Maya and never saw Maya would stand for her that night. Faith leaders urged parents to watch for the warning signs of abuse in the children around them.